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120-536: Maria Theresa I (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure (in her own right). She was the sovereign of Austria , Hungary , Croatia , Bohemia , Transylvania , Mantua , Milan , Galicia and Lodomeria , the Austrian Netherlands , and Parma . By marriage, she

240-459: A better position should there arise a war of succession to the Austrian territories. The couple's eldest surviving son, Frederick Christian , eventually succeeded his father as Elector of Saxony . In Saxony, the couple lived at Dresden Castle . The marriage has been described as a happy one, and Augustus was apparently never unfaithful. In 1733, Frederick Augustus was elected King and Grand Duke of

360-664: A couple of months less. She learned to speak Polish and was often present during the assemblies of the Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . During her absences from home, she frequently corresponded with her children in French, having a somewhat closer relationship to them than usual for her class. She gave them pet names and encouraged them to write to her in an informal way. She shared an interest in music, art and hunting with her spouse, and they usually spent their autumns at

480-653: A crushing defeat at the Battle of Mollwitz in April 1741. France drew up a plan to partition Austria between Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Spain: Bohemia and Upper Austria would be ceded to Bavaria, whose elector would become emperor, whereas Moravia and Upper Silesia would be granted to the Electorate of Saxony , Lower Silesia and Glatz to Prussia, and the entire Austrian Lombardy to Spain. Marshal Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet, duc de Belle-Isle joined Frederick at Olmütz . Vienna

600-533: A day and kept more devotions than was normal for a nun or a monk. Fr. Anton Hermann eventually lectured her that she was more fervent than could be regarded as modest for a lay person. Maria Josepha did not persecute non-Catholics, and once stressed to the heir to the throne that he should not persecute them but allow them all freedom while being guided by the Catholic faith. She also gave alms to both Catholic and Protestant poor. Despite her personal strict moral code, she

720-526: A decree that removed them from all the institutions of the monarchy, and carried it out thoroughly. She forbade the publication of Pope Clement XIII 's Apostolicum pascendi bull, which was in favour of the Jesuits, and promptly confiscated their property when Pope Clement XIV suppressed the order. Maria Theresa regarded both the Jews and Protestants as dangerous to the state and actively tried to suppress them. She

840-553: A diplomatic congress to take advantage of the accession of George III of Great Britain, as he did not really care about Germany. Finally, the war was concluded by the Treaty of Hubertusburg and Paris in 1763. Austria had to leave the Prussian territories that were occupied. Although Silesia remained under the control of Prussia, a new balance of power was created in Europe, and Austrian position

960-517: A group of Moravians who had assembled for a worship service on the occasion of her birthday were arrested and deported to Hungary. Freedom of religion was granted only in the Patent of Toleration issued by Joseph immediately after Maria Theresa's death. The policies of Maria Theresa's government toward their Eastern Orthodox subjects were marked by special interests, relating not only to complex religious situations in various southern and eastern regions of

1080-575: A large diplomatic correspondence. She was rivalled in her influence over her spouse by Heinrich von Brühl . Maria Josepha was reportedly not on good terms with her eldest son Frederick Christian. She wished for her younger son Francis Xavier to be elected king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania rather than having Frederick Christian succeed his father on both thrones, and she prevented Frederick Christian and his spouse from visiting Poland-Lithuania, thus preventing them from making connections there. She undermined any attempts of Frederick Christian to found

1200-436: A monarch and kept Rome at arm's length. She controlled the selection of archbishops, bishops and abbots. Overall, the ecclesiastical policies of Maria Theresa were enacted to ensure the primacy of state control in church-state relations. She was also influenced by Jansenist ideas. One of the most important aspects of Jansenism was the advocacy of maximum freedom of national churches from Rome. Although Austria had always stressed

1320-571: A part of Silesia. Francis Stephen was inclined to consider such an arrangement, but the Queen and her advisers were not, fearing that any violation of the Pragmatic Sanction would invalidate the entire document. Maria Theresa's firmness soon assured Francis Stephen that they should fight for Silesia, and she was confident that she would retain "the jewel of the House of Austria". The resulting war with Prussia

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1440-511: A power base of his own before the death of his father, and among other things prevented a meeting between him and his spouse with Empress Maria Theresa of Austria in 1754. During the War of the Austrian Succession in 1740, she claimed the throne on behalf of her spouse. She relinquished her claim in favor of her sister, Maria Amalia's spouse, and in 1742, made an alliance with Austria. During

1560-413: A return to Protestant practice was treated harshly, often by exile. Maria Theresa exiled Protestants from Austria to Transylvania , including 2,600 from Upper Austria in the 1750s. Her son and co-ruler Joseph regarded his mother's religious policies as "unjust, impious, impossible, harmful and ridiculous". Despite her policies, practical, demographic and economic considerations prevented her from expelling

1680-600: A rich treasury were more important than mere signatures. Eventually, Charles VI left behind a weakened and impoverished state, particularly due to the War of the Polish Succession and the Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739) . Moreover, upon his death, Saxony , Prussia , Bavaria , and France all repudiated the sanction they had recognised during his lifetime. Frederick II of Prussia (who became Maria Theresa's greatest rival for most of her reign) promptly invaded and took

1800-551: A slight tinge of red, a wide mouth and a notably strong body. Unlike many other members of the House of Habsburg, neither Maria Theresa's parents nor her grandparents were closely related to each other. Maria Theresa was a serious and reserved child who enjoyed singing and archery. She was barred from horse riding by her father, but she would later learn the basics for the sake of her Hungarian coronation ceremony . The imperial family staged opera productions, often conducted by Charles VI, in which she relished participating. Her education

1920-445: A winter campaign; the same day he was elected emperor, Austrian troops under Ludwig Andreas von Khevenhüller captured Munich , Charles Albert's capital. She has, as you well know, a terrible hatred for France, with which nation it is most difficult for her to keep on good terms, but she controls this passion except when she thinks to her advantage to display it. She detests Your Majesty, but acknowledges your ability. She cannot forget

2040-487: A woman could not be elected Holy Roman Empress , Maria Theresa wanted to secure the imperial office for her husband, but Francis Stephen did not possess enough land or rank within the Holy Roman Empire. In order to make him eligible for the imperial throne and to enable him to vote in the imperial elections as king of Bohemia (which she could not do because of her sex), Maria Theresa made Francis Stephen co-ruler of

2160-596: Is known as the First Silesian War . The invasion of Silesia by Frederick was the start of a lifelong enmity; she referred to him as "that evil man". As Austria was short of experienced military commanders, Maria Theresa released Marshal Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg , who had been imprisoned by her father for his poor performance in the Turkish War. Neipperg took command of the Austrian troops in March. The Austrians suffered

2280-497: The Diet of the Holy Roman Empire recognised the sanction. France, Spain, Saxony, Bavaria, and Prussia later reneged. Little more than a year after her birth, Maria Theresa was joined by a sister, Maria Anna , and another one, named Maria Amalia, was born in 1724. The portraits of the imperial family show that Maria Theresa resembled Elisabeth Christine and Maria Anna. The Prussian ambassador noted that she had large blue eyes, fair hair with

2400-978: The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza between 1814 and 1847. Also, the Second Mexican Empire , from 1863 to 1867, was headed by Maximilian I of Mexico , the brother of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria . The so-called "Habsburg monarchs" or "Habsburg emperors" held many different titles and ruled each kingdom separately through a personal union . The decline of the Habsburg Empire is given in Stefan Zweig's The World of Yesterday . Stefan Zweig, l'autore del più famoso libro sull'Impero asburgico, Die Welt von Gestern Maria Josepha of Austria Maria Josepha of Austria (Maria Josepha Benedikta Antonia Theresia Xaveria Philippine, Polish : Maria Józefa , Lithuanian : Marija Juozapa ; 8 December 1699 – 17 November 1757)

2520-593: The Electorate of Hanover to be neutral. Therefore, she needed troops from Hungary in order to support the war effort. Although she had already won the admiration of the Hungarians, the number of volunteers was only in the hundreds. Since she required them in thousands or even tens of thousands, she decided to appear before the Hungarian Diet on 11 September 1741 while wearing the Holy Crown of Hungary . She began addressing

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2640-595: The First Hungarian Republic in late 1918. In historiography , the terms "Austria" or "Austrians" are frequently used as shorthand for the Habsburg monarchy since the 18th century. From 1438 to 1806, the rulers of the House of Habsburg almost continuously reigned as Holy Roman Emperors . However, the realms of the Holy Roman Empire were mostly self-governing and are thus not considered to have been part of

2760-452: The Grand Duchy of Tuscany between 1765 and 1801, and again from 1814 to 1859. While exiled from Tuscany, this line ruled at Salzburg from 1803 to 1805, and in Grand Duchy of Würzburg from 1805 to 1814. The House of Austria-Este ruled the Duchy of Modena from 1814 to 1859, while Empress Marie Louise , Napoleon 's second wife and the daughter of Austrian Emperor Francis I , ruled over

2880-604: The Habsburg monarchy , inhabited by Eastern Orthodox Christians , mainly Serbs and Romanians , but also regarding the political aspirations of the Habsburg court toward several neighbouring lands and regions in Southeastern Europe still held by the declining Ottoman Empire and inhabited by an Eastern Orthodox population. Maria Theresa's government confirmed (1743) and continued to uphold old privileges granted to their Eastern Orthodox subjects by previous Habsburg monarchs (emperors Leopold I, Joseph I and Charles VI), but at

3000-650: The House of Austria . Between 1438 and 1806, with few exceptions, the Habsburg Archduke of Austria was elected as Holy Roman Emperor . The Habsburgs grew to European prominence as a result of the dynastic policy pursued by Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor . Maximilian married Mary of Burgundy , thus bringing the Burgundian Netherlands into the Habsburg possessions. Their son, Philip the Handsome , married Joanna

3120-529: The House of Habsburg and hoped for a son who would prevent the extinction of his dynasty and succeed him. Thus, the birth of Maria Theresa was a great disappointment to him and the people of Vienna; Charles never managed to overcome this feeling. Maria Theresa replaced Maria Josepha as heir presumptive to the Habsburg realms the moment she was born; Charles VI had issued the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 which had placed his nieces behind his own daughters in

3240-436: The House of Habsburg , Maria Theresa was a Catholic , and a devout one. She believed that religious unity was necessary for a peaceful public life and explicitly rejected the idea of religious toleration . She even advocated for a state church and contemporary travelers criticized her regime as bigoted, intolerant and superstitious. However, she never allowed the church to interfere with what she considered to be prerogatives of

3360-528: The Netherlands through marriage. Both realms passed to his grandson and successor, Charles V , who also inherited the Spanish throne and its colonial possessions , and thus came to rule the Habsburg empire at its greatest territorial extent. The abdication of Charles V in 1556 led to a division within the dynasty between his son Philip II of Spain and his brother Ferdinand I , who had served as his lieutenant and

3480-516: The Ottoman Turks , Archduke Ferdinand (who was his brother-in-law by virtue of an adoption treaty signed by Maximilian and Vladislaus II , Louis's father at the First Congress of Vienna ) was also elected the next king of Bohemia and Hungary in 1526. Bohemia and Hungary became hereditary Habsburg domains only in the 17th century: Following victory in the Battle of White Mountain (1620) over

3600-610: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as August III the Saxon . Maria Josepha was crowned on 17 January 1734. Queen Maria Josepha was described as ambitious, intelligent and religious. She founded many churches and convents and gave her strong support to the Polish-Lithuanian Jesuits . As queen of Poland, grand duchess of Lithuania and electress of Saxony, she divided her time between the two nations. Though Saxony

3720-578: The Seven Years' War , Maria Josepha stayed behind in Dresden with her son, Frederick Christian and his spouse Maria Antonia, after her husband left on 20 October 1756. She remained in Dresden when the city was taken by the Prussian Army . She, as well as Frederick Christian and his spouse Maria Antonia, were all placed under house arrest at the palace of Dresden guarded by a Prussian commandant. Maria Josepha

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3840-560: The Seven Years' War . Although she was expected to cede power to her husband, Emperor Francis I , and her eldest son, Emperor Joseph II , who were officially her co-rulers in Austria and Bohemia, Maria Theresa ruled as an autocratic sovereign with the counsel of her advisers. She promulgated institutional, financial, medical, and educational reforms, with the assistance of Wenzel Anton of Kaunitz-Rietberg , Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz , and Gerard van Swieten . She also promoted commerce and

3960-489: The "Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council". When Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed (after 30 years of occupation and administration ), it was not incorporated into either half of the monarchy. Instead, it was governed by the joint Ministry of Finance. During the dissolution of Austria-Hungary , the Austrian territories collapsed under the weight of the various ethnic independence movements that came to

4080-427: The Austrian and Bohemian lands on 21 November 1740. It took more than a year for the Diet of Hungary to accept Francis Stephen as co-ruler, since they asserted that the sovereignty of Hungary could not be shared. Despite her love for him and his position as co-ruler, Maria Theresa never allowed her husband to decide matters of state and often dismissed him from council meetings when they disagreed. The first display of

4200-558: The Bavarian-French occupation during the War of the Austrian Succession. The order was then expanded to all Jews of Bohemia and major cities of Moravia. Her first intention was to deport all Jews by 1 January, but having accepted the advice of her ministers, had the deadline postponed. The expulsion was executed only for Prague and only retracted in 1748 due to economic considerations and pressures from other countries, including Great Britain. In

4320-562: The Bohemian populace would prefer Charles Albert , Elector of Bavaria, to her as sovereign. Maria Theresa, desperate and burdened by pregnancy, wrote plaintively to her sister: "I don't know if a town will remain to me for my delivery." She bitterly vowed to spare nothing and no one to defend her kingdom when she wrote to the Bohemian chancellor , Count Philip Kinsky : "My mind is made up. We must put everything at stake to save Bohemia." On 26 October,

4440-580: The Bohemian rebels, Ferdinand II promulgated a Renewed Land Ordinance (1627/1628) that established hereditary succession over Bohemia. Following the Battle of Mohács (1687) , in which Leopold I reconquered almost all of Ottoman Hungary from the Turks, the emperor held a diet in Pressburg to establish hereditary succession in the Hungarian kingdom. Charles V divided the House in 1556 by ceding Austria along with

4560-552: The Diet in Latin , and she asserted that "the very existence of the Kingdom of Hungary, of our own person and children, and our crown, are at stake. Forsaken by all, we place our sole reliance in the fidelity and long-tried valor of the Hungarians." The response was rather boorish, with the Queen being questioned and even heckled by members of the Diet; someone cried that she "better apply to Satan than

4680-521: The Elector of Bavaria captured Prague and declared himself king of Bohemia . Maria Theresa, then in Hungary, wept on learning of the loss of Bohemia. Charles Albert was unanimously elected Holy Roman Emperor as Charles VII on 24 January 1742, which made him the only non-Habsburg to be in that position since 1440. The Queen, who regarded the election as a catastrophe, caught her enemies unprepared by insisting on

4800-521: The Emperor considered other possibilities. Religious differences prevented him from arranging his daughter's marriage to the Protestant prince Frederick of Prussia . In 1725, he betrothed her to Charles of Spain and her sister, Maria Anna, to Philip of Spain . However, other European powers compelled him to renounce the pact he had made with the Queen of Spain, Elisabeth Farnese , and the betrothal to Charles

4920-690: The Habsburg monarchy. Hence, the Habsburg monarchy (of the Austrian branch) is often called "Austria" by metonymy . Around 1700, the Latin term monarchia austriaca came into use as a term of convenience. Within the empire alone, the vast possessions included the original Hereditary Lands, the Erblande , from before 1526; the Lands of the Bohemian Crown ; the formerly Spanish Austrian Netherlands from 1714 until 1794; and some fiefs in Imperial Italy . Outside

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5040-626: The Habsburgs to win the war, as the French and Habsburg armies were destroyed by Frederick at Rossbach in 1757. After the defeat in Torgau on 3 November 1760, Maria Theresa realised that she could no longer reclaim Silesia without Russian support, which vanished after the death of Empress Elizabeth in early 1762. In the meantime, France was losing badly in America and India, and thus they had reduced their subsidies by 50%. Since 1761, Kaunitz had tried to organise

5160-404: The Hungarians for help." However, she managed to show her gift for theatrical displays by holding her son and heir, Joseph , while weeping, and she dramatically consigned the future king to the defense of the "brave Hungarians". This act managed to win the sympathy of the members, and they declared that they would die for Maria Theresa. In 1741, the Austrian authorities informed Maria Theresa that

5280-726: The Imperial crown to Ferdinand (as decided at the Imperial election, 1531 ), and the Spanish Empire to his son Philip . The Spanish branch (which also held the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Portugal between 1580 and 1640, and the Mezzogiorno of Italy) became extinct in 1700. The Austrian branch (which also ruled the Holy Roman Empire, Hungary and Bohemia) was itself divided between different branches of

5400-608: The Jews are to be kept away and avoided." Her animosity was such that she was willing to tolerate Protestant businessmen and financiers in Vienna, such as the Swiss-born Johann von Fries , since she wanted to break free from the Jewish financiers. In December 1744, she proposed to her ministers the expulsion of around 10,000 Jews from Prague amid accusations that they were disloyal at the time of

5520-522: The Low Countries, to govern his various realms. At the Diet of Worms in 1521, Emperor Charles V came to terms with his younger brother Ferdinand . According to the Habsburg compact of Worms (1521), confirmed a year later in Brussels , Ferdinand was made Archduke , as a regent of Charles V in the Austrian hereditary lands. Following the death of Louis II of Hungary in the Battle of Mohács against

5640-659: The Mad of Spain (daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile ). Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , the son of Philip and Joanna, inherited the Habsburg Netherlands in 1506, Habsburg Spain and its territories in 1516, and Habsburg Austria in 1519. At this point, the Habsburg possessions were so vast that Charles V was constantly travelling throughout his dominions and therefore needed deputies and regents, such as Isabella of Portugal in Spain and Margaret of Austria in

5760-593: The Palace of Hubertusburg for the hunting season. She was devoted to Catholicism and especially venerated Saint Francis Xavier and was actively involved in the building of the Catholic Hofkirche in Dresden. Her personal confessor, the Jesuit Fr. Anton Hermann, criticized her for being too religious from what was proper for someone not a Catholic religious order member. She attended mass twice and eventually four times

5880-459: The Pragmatic Sanction during her father's lifetime, in November 1740. In December, Frederick II of Prussia invaded the Duchy of Silesia and requested that Maria Theresa cede it, threatening to join her enemies if she refused. Maria Theresa decided to fight for the mineral-rich province. Frederick even offered a compromise: he would defend Maria Theresa's rights if she agreed to cede to him at least

6000-519: The Pragmatic Sanction, left Austria in an impoverished state, bankrupted by the recent Turkish war and the War of the Polish Succession ; the treasury contained only 100,000 florins , which were claimed by his widow. The army had also been weakened due to these wars; instead of the full number of 160,000, the army had been reduced to about 108,000, and they were scattered in small areas from the Austrian Netherlands to Transylvania , and from Silesia to Tuscany. They were also poorly trained and discipline

6120-453: The Protestants en masse . In 1777, she abandoned the idea of expelling Moravian Protestants after Joseph, who was opposed to her intentions, threatened to abdicate as emperor and co-ruler. In February 1780, after a number of Moravians publicly declared their faith, Joseph demanded a general freedom to worship. However, Maria Theresa refused to grant this for as long as she lived. In May 1780,

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6240-526: The affluent Habsburg province of Silesia in the eight-year conflict known as the War of the Austrian Succession . In defiance of the grave situation, she managed to secure the vital support of the Hungarians for the war effort. During the course of the war, Maria Theresa successfully defended her rule over most of the Habsburg monarchy, apart from the loss of Silesia and a few minor territories in Italy. Maria Theresa later unsuccessfully tried to recover Silesia during

6360-464: The age of three. Her third child, the first of three daughters named Maria Carolina , died shortly after her first birthday. The second Maria Carolina was born feet first in 1748. As it became evident that she would not survive, preparations were hastily made to baptize her while still living; according to traditional Catholic belief, unbaptized infants would be condemned to eternity in limbo . Maria Theresa's physician Gerard van Swieten assured her that

6480-618: The battle was over, he had left the scene. Subsequently, Prussia was defeated at Hochkirch in Saxony on 14 October 1758, at Kunersdorf in Brandenburg on 12 August 1759, and at Landeshut near Glatz in June 1760. Hungarian and Croat light hussars led by Count Hadik raided Berlin in 1757. Austrian and Russian troops even occupied Berlin for several days in August 1760. However, these victories did not enable

6600-434: The circumstances under which she had ascended: "I found myself without money, without credit, without army, without experience and knowledge of my own and finally, also without any counsel because each one of them at first wanted to wait and see how things would develop." She dismissed the possibility that other countries might try to seize her territories and immediately started ensuring the imperial dignity for herself; since

6720-454: The course of its history, other lands were, at times, under Austrian Habsburg rule (some of these territories were secundogenitures , i.e. ruled by other lines of Habsburg dynasty): The boundaries of some of these territories varied over the period indicated, and others were ruled by a subordinate (secundogeniture) Habsburg line. The Habsburgs also held the title of Holy Roman Emperor between 1438 and 1740, and again from 1745 to 1806. Within

6840-417: The crypt and soon died. Maria Carolina was to replace her as the pre-determined bride of King Ferdinand IV of Naples . Maria Theresa blamed herself for her daughter's death for the rest of her life because, at the time, the concept of an extended incubation period was largely unknown and it was believed that Josepha had caught smallpox from the body of the late empress. The last in the family to be infected with

6960-400: The daughters of Charles VI's elder brother and predecessor, Joseph I , before the eyes of their mother, Wilhelmine Amalia. It was clear that Maria Theresa would outrank them, even though their grandfather, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I , had his sons sign the Mutual Pact of Succession , which gave precedence to the daughters of the elder brother. Her father was the only surviving male member of

7080-475: The development of agriculture, and reorganised Austria's ramshackle military, all of which strengthened Austria's international standing. A pious Catholic, she despised Jews and Protestants , and on certain occasions she ordered their expulsion to remote parts of the realm. She also advocated for the state church . The second and eldest surviving child of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel , Archduchess Maria Theresa

7200-450: The disease in May 1767 and died a week later. Maria Theresa ignored the risk of infection and embraced her daughter-in-law before the sick chamber was sealed to outsiders. Maria Theresa in fact contracted smallpox from her daughter-in-law. Throughout the city prayers were made for her recovery, and the sacrament was displayed in all churches. Joseph slept in one of his mother's antechambers and hardly left her bedside. On 1 June, Maria Theresa

7320-448: The earlier agreement and made his eldest daughter Maria Theresa his successor instead of eldest his niece, Maria Josepha. A marriage between Maria Josepha and Frederick Augustus II , Elector of Saxony (1696–1763) had been suggested by Frederick's father, August II the Strong , since 1704. The fact that Maria Josepha was not allowed to marry a non-Catholic, however, prevented the marriage. When Augustus converted to Catholicism in 1712,

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7440-570: The early 1860s, the famous Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 was arrived at, by which the so-called dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary was set up. In this system, the Kingdom of Hungary ("Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen.") was an equal sovereign with only a personal union and a joint foreign and military policy connecting it to the other Habsburg lands. Although the non-Hungarian Habsburg lands were referred to as "Austria", received their own central parliament (the Reichsrat , or Imperial Council ) and ministries, as their official name –

7560-417: The early modern Habsburg monarchy, each entity was governed according to its own particular customs. Until the mid 17th century, not all of the provinces were even necessarily ruled by the same person—junior members of the family often ruled portions of the Hereditary Lands as private apanages. Serious attempts at centralization began under Maria Theresa and especially her son Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor in

7680-478: The eight-year conflict, recognised Prussia's possession of Silesia, and Maria Theresa ceded the Duchy of Parma to Philip of Spain . France had successfully conquered the Austrian Netherlands, but Louis XV , wishing to prevent potential future wars with Austria, returned them to Maria Theresa. Frederick of Prussia's invasion of Saxony in August 1756 began a Third Silesian War and sparked the wider Seven Years' War . Maria Theresa and Prince Kaunitz wished to exit

7800-411: The elected king of Hungary , Croatia and Bohemia . The Spanish branch (which held all of Iberia , the Netherlands , and lands in Italy) became extinct in 1700. The Austrian branch (which ruled the Holy Roman Empire , Hungary, Bohemia and various other lands) was itself split into different branches in 1564 but reunited 101 years later. It became extinct in the male line in 1740, but continued through

7920-410: The empire, they encompassed all the Kingdom of Hungary as well as conquests made at the expense of the Ottoman Empire . The dynastic capital was Vienna , except from 1583 to 1611, when it was in Prague . The first Habsburg who can be reliably traced was Radbot of Klettgau , who was born in the late 10th century; the family name originated with Habsburg Castle , in present-day Switzerland , which

8040-462: The equestrian skills necessary for the ceremony and negotiating with the Hungarian Diet. To appease those who considered her gender to be a serious obstacle, Maria Theresa assumed masculine titles. Thus, in nomenclature, Maria Theresa was archduke and king; normally, however, she was styled as queen. By July, attempts at conciliation had completely collapsed. Maria Theresa's ally, Augustus III of Poland , now became her enemy, and George II declared

8160-433: The family from 1564 until 1665, but thereafter it remained a single personal union . It became extinct in the male line in 1740, but through the marriage of Queen Maria Theresa with Francis of Lorraine , the dynasty continued as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine . Names of some smaller territories: The territories ruled by the Austrian monarchy changed over the centuries, but the core always consisted of four blocs: Over

8280-402: The female line as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine . The Habsburg monarchy was a union of crowns, with only partial shared laws and institutions other than the Habsburg court itself; the provinces were divided in three groups: the Archduchy proper, Inner Austria that included Styria and Carniola , and Further Austria with Tyrol and the Swabian lands. The territorial possessions of

8400-508: The fore with its defeat in World War I. After its dissolution, the new republics of Austria (the German-Austrian territories of the Hereditary lands) and the First Hungarian Republic were created. In the peace settlement that followed, significant territories were ceded to Romania and Italy and the remainder of the monarchy's territory was shared out among the new states of Poland , the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia), and Czechoslovakia . A junior line ruled over

8520-406: The illness was the twenty-four year old Elisabeth . Although she recovered, she was badly scarred with pock marks from the illness. Maria Theresa's losses to smallpox, especially in the epidemic of 1767, were decisive in her sponsoring trials to prevent the illness through inoculation , and subsequently insisting on members of the imperial family receiving inoculation. Shortly after giving birth to

8640-468: The infant was still living when baptized, but many at court doubted this. Maria Theresa's mother, Empress Elisabeth Christine, died in 1750. Four years later, Maria Theresa's governess, Marie Karoline von Fuchs-Mollard, died. She showed her gratitude to Countess Fuchs by having her buried in the Imperial Crypt along with the members of the imperial family. Smallpox was a constant threat to members of

8760-477: The line of succession. Charles sought the other European powers' approval for disinheriting his nieces. They exacted harsh terms: in the Treaty of Vienna (1731) , Great Britain demanded that Austria abolish the Ostend Company in return for its recognition of the Pragmatic Sanction. In total, Great Britain, France , Saxony , United Provinces , Spain , Prussia , Russia , Denmark , Sardinia , Bavaria , and

8880-646: The loss of Silesia (with the exception of Austrian Silesia by the Treaty of Dresden in December 1745, ending the Second Silesian War). The wider war dragged on for another three years, with fighting in northern Italy and the Austrian Netherlands; however, the core Habsburg domains of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia remained in Maria Theresa's possession. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) , which concluded

9000-531: The loss of Silesia, nor her grief over the soldiers she lost in wars with you. Prussian ambassador's letter to Frederick the Great The Treaty of Breslau of June 1742 ended hostilities between Austria and Prussia. With the First Silesian War at an end, the Queen soon made the recovery of Bohemia her priority. French troops fled Bohemia in the winter of the same year. On 12 May 1743, Maria Theresa

9120-493: The mid to late 18th century, but many of these were abandoned following large scale resistance to Joseph's more radical reform attempts, although a more cautious policy of centralization continued during the revolutionary period and the Metternichian period that followed. Another attempt at centralization began in 1849 following the suppression of the various revolutions of 1848 . For the first time, ministers tried to transform

9240-517: The monarchy into a centralized bureaucratic state ruled from Vienna. The Kingdom of Hungary was placed under martial law , being divided into a series of military districts, the centralized neo-absolutism tried to as well to nullify Hungary's constitution and Diet . Following the Habsburg defeats in the Second Italian War of Independence (1859) and Austro-Prussian War (1866), these policies were step by step abandoned. After experimentation in

9360-588: The monarchy were thus united only by virtue of a common monarch. The Habsburg realms were unified in 1804 with the formation of the Austrian Empire and later split in two with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 . The monarchy began to fracture in the face of inevitable defeat during the final years of World War I and ultimately disbanded with the proclamation of the Republic of German-Austria and

9480-530: The negotiations became serious. Emperor Charles VI forbade Maria Josepha and her sister from marrying until they renounced their positions in the line of succession, securing the succession for Charles's future daughter Maria Theresa. Maria Josepha renounced her claim on 10 August 1719. Ten days later, Maria Josepha and Frederick Augustus married. Through this marriage between the Houses of Wettin and Habsburg , Frederick Augustus II's father hoped to place Saxony in

9600-981: The new queen's authority was the formal act of homage of the Lower Austrian Estates to her on 22 November 1740. It was an elaborate public event which served as a formal recognition and legitimation of her accession. The oath of fealty to Maria Theresa was taken on the same day in the Ritterstube of the Hofburg . Immediately after her accession, a number of European sovereigns who had recognised Maria Theresa as heir broke their promises. Queen Elisabeth of Spain and Elector Charles Albert of Bavaria, married to Maria Theresa's deprived cousin Maria Amalia and supported by Empress Wilhelmine Amalia, coveted portions of her inheritance. Maria Theresa did secure recognition from King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia , who had not accepted

9720-516: The number of religious holidays and monastic orders. Her relationship with the Jesuits was complex. Members of this order educated her, served as her confessors, and supervised the religious education of her eldest son. The Jesuits were powerful and influential in the early years of Maria Theresa's reign. However, the Queen's ministers convinced her that the order posed a danger to her monarchical authority. Not without much hesitation and regret, she issued

9840-569: The peace between the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War : Maria Johanna , Maria Josepha , (the third) Maria Carolina , Ferdinand and Maria Antonia . She delivered her last child, Maximilian Francis , during the Seven Years' War, aged 39. Maria Theresa asserted that, had she not been almost always pregnant, she would have gone into battle herself. Four of Maria Theresa's children died before reaching adolescence. Her eldest daughter Maria Elisabeth died from stomach cramps at

9960-504: The realm where the Jews were treated better, such as Trieste , Gorizia and Vorarlberg . In contrast to Maria Theresa's efforts to expel the Jews, she aimed to convert the Protestants (whom she regarded as heretics) to Catholicism. Commissions were formed to seek out secret Protestants and intern them in workhouses, where they would be given the chance to subscribe to approved statements of Catholic faith. If they accepted, they were to be allowed to return to their homes. However, any sign of

10080-501: The religious life of their Eastern Orthodox subjects and the administration of the Serbian Metropolitanate of Karlovci. Maria Theresa's rescript of 1779 was kept in force until 1868. Habsburg monarchy The history of the Habsburg monarchy can be traced back to the election of Rudolf I as King of Germany in 1273 and his acquisition of the Duchy of Austria for the Habsburgs in 1282. In 1482, Maximilian I acquired

10200-529: The result was the First Treaty of Versailles of 1 May 1756. Thus, the efforts of Kaunitz and Starhemberg managed to pave a way for a Diplomatic Revolution ; previously, France was one of Austria's archenemies together with Russia and the Ottoman Empire , but after the agreement, they were united by a common cause against Prussia. However, historians have blamed this treaty for France's devastating defeats in

10320-547: The rights of the state in relation to the church, Jansenism provided new theoretical justification for this. Maria Theresa promoted the Greek Catholics and emphasized their equal status with Latin Church Catholics. Although Maria Theresa was a very pious person, she also enacted policies that suppressed exaggerated display of piety, such as the prohibition of public flagellantism . Furthermore, she significantly reduced

10440-511: The royal family. In July 1749, Maria Christina survived a bout of the disease, followed in January 1757 by Maria Theresa's eldest son Joseph . In January 1761, the disease killed her second son Charles at the age of fifteen. In December 1762, her twelve-year-old daughter Johanna likewise died in agony from the disease. In November 1763, Joseph's first wife Isabella died from the disease. Joseph's second wife Empress Maria Josepha likewise caught

10560-615: The same time, new reforms were enforced, establishing much firmer state control over the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Karlovci . Those reforms were initiated by royal patents, known as Regulamentum privilegiorum (1770) and Regulamentum Illyricae Nationis (1777), and finalized in 1779 by the Declaratory Rescript of the Illyrian Nation , a comprehensive document that regulated all major issues relating to

10680-566: The third decade of her reign, Maria Theresa issued edicts that offered some state protection to her Jewish subjects. She forbade the forcible conversion of Jewish children to Christianity in 1762, and in 1763 she forbade Catholic clergy from extracting surplice fees from her Jewish subjects. In 1764, she ordered the release of those Jews who had been jailed for a blood libel in the village of Orkuta. Notwithstanding her continuing strong dislike of Jews, Maria Theresa supported Jewish commercial and industrial activity in Austria. There were also parts of

10800-542: The times of her childhood, the House of Habsburg had no male heirs, as her only brother, Archduke Leopold Joseph of Austria (1700-1701) died in infancy. During the reign of her grandfather, Maria Josepha's father and uncle signed the Mutual Pact of Succession of 1703, which was issued by her grandfather, Emperor Leopold I , and effectively made Maria Josepha the heiress presumptive to her uncle, Emperor Charles VI . However, Charles VI's Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 annulled

10920-563: The war , since Louis XV was required to deploy troops in Germany and to provide subsidies of 25–30 million pounds a year to Maria Theresa that were vital for the Austrian war effort in Bohemia and Silesia. On 1 May 1757, the Second Treaty of Versailles was signed, whereby Louis XV promised to provide Austria with 130,000 men in addition to 12 million florins yearly. They would also continue

11040-552: The war in Continental Europe until Prussia could be compelled to abandon Silesia and Glatz. In return, Austria would cede several towns in the Austrian Netherlands to the son-in-law of Louis XV, Philip of Parma , who in turn would grant his Italian duchies to Maria Theresa. Maximilian von Browne commanded the Austrian troops. Following the indecisive Battle of Lobositz in 1756, he was replaced by Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine , Maria Theresa's brother-in-law. However, he

11160-502: The war with possession of Silesia. Before the war started, Kaunitz had been sent as an ambassador to Versailles from 1750 to 1753 to win over the French. Meanwhile, the British rebuffed requests from Maria Theresa to aid her in reclaiming Silesia, and Frederick II himself managed to secure the Treaty of Westminster (1756) with them. Subsequently, Maria Theresa sent Georg Adam, Prince of Starhemberg , to negotiate an agreement with France, and

11280-471: The war. Francis Stephen was popularly despised, as he was thought to be a cowardly French spy. The war was concluded the next year with the Treaty of Belgrade . Charles VI died on 20 October 1740, probably of mushroom poisoning. He had ignored the advice of Prince Eugene of Savoy who had urged him to concentrate on filling the treasury and equipping the army rather than on acquiring signatures of fellow monarchs. The Emperor, who spent his entire reign securing

11400-642: The younger children, Maria Theresa was confronted with the task of marrying off the elder ones. She led the marriage negotiations along with the campaigns of her wars and the duties of state. She used them as pawns in dynastic games and sacrificed their happiness for the benefit of the state. A devoted but self-conscious mother, she wrote to all of her children at least once a week and believed herself entitled to exercise authority over her children regardless of their age and rank. In April 1770, Maria Theresa's youngest daughter, Maria Antonia, married Louis , Dauphin of France , by proxy in Vienna. Maria Antonia's education

11520-400: Was Duchess of Lorraine , Grand Duchess of Tuscany , and Holy Roman Empress . Maria Theresa started her 40-year reign when her father, Emperor Charles VI , died on 20 October 1740. Charles VI paved the way for her accession with the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 and spent his entire reign securing it. He neglected the advice of Prince Eugene of Savoy , who believed that a strong military and

11640-494: Was Maria Christina, who enjoyed her mother's complete confidence, though she failed to please her mother in one aspect – she did not produce any surviving children. One of Maria Theresa's greatest wishes was to have as many grandchildren as possible, but she had only about two dozen at the time of her death, of which all the eldest surviving daughters were named after her, with the exception of Princess Carolina of Parma , her eldest granddaughter by Maria Amalia. Like all members of

11760-435: Was appointed only because of his familial relations; he turned out to be an incompetent military leader, and he was replaced by Leopold Joseph von Daun , Franz Moritz von Lacy and Ernst Gideon von Laudon . Frederick himself was startled by Lobositz; he eventually re-grouped for another attack in June 1757. The Battle of Kolín that followed was a decisive victory for Austria. Frederick lost one third of his troops, and before

11880-477: Was banned from writing to her sons, but did engage in correspondence with invisible ink and use her net of correspondents to help her son and daughter-in-law encourage resistance in Saxony against the invading Prussians. Despite several restrictions, she managed to channel secret information about Saxon Field Marshal Maximilian Ulysses Browne , besieged by Frederick the Great at Struppen . On 4 April 1757, her Mistress of

12000-442: Was born a little less than a year after the wedding. The child's sex caused great disappointment and so would the births of Maria Anna , the eldest surviving child, and Maria Carolina (1740–1741). While fighting to preserve her inheritance, Maria Theresa gave birth to a son, Joseph , named after Saint Joseph , to whom she had repeatedly prayed for a male child during the pregnancy. Maria Theresa's favourite child, Maria Christina ,

12120-471: Was born on 13 May 1717 in Vienna , six months after the death of her elder brother, Archduke Leopold Johann , and was baptised on that same evening. The dowager empresses, her aunt Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg and grandmother Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg , were her godmothers. Most descriptions of her baptism stress that the infant was carried ahead of her cousins, Maria Josepha and Maria Amalia ,

12240-454: Was born on her 25th birthday, four days before the defeat of the Austrian army at Chotusitz . Five more children were born during the war: (the second) Maria Elisabeth , Charles , Maria Amalia , Leopold and (the second) Maria Carolina (b. & d. 1748). During this period, there was no rest for Maria Theresa during pregnancies or around the births; the war and child-bearing were carried on simultaneously. Five children were born during

12360-511: Was broken off. Maria Theresa, who had become close to Francis Stephen, was relieved. Francis Stephen remained at the imperial court until 1729, when he ascended the throne of Lorraine , but was not formally promised Maria Theresa's hand until 31 January 1736, during the War of the Polish Succession . Louis XV of France demanded that Maria Theresa's fiancé surrender his ancestral Duchy of Lorraine to accommodate his father-in-law, Stanisław I , who had been deposed as king of Poland. Francis Stephen

12480-455: Was built by Radbot. After 1279, the Habsburgs came to rule in the Duchy of Austria , which was part of the elective Kingdom of Germany within the Holy Roman Empire . King Rudolf I of Germany of the Habsburg family assigned the Duchy of Austria to his sons at the Diet of Augsburg (1282), thus establishing the " Austrian hereditary lands ". From that moment, the Habsburg dynasty was also known as

12600-665: Was crowned Queen of Bohemia in St. Vitus Cathedral suo jure . Prussia became anxious at Austrian advances on the Rhine frontier, and Frederick again invaded Bohemia, beginning a Second Silesian War ; Prussian troops sacked Prague in August 1744. The French plans fell apart when Charles VII died in January 1745. The French overran the Austrian Netherlands in May. Francis Stephen was elected Holy Roman Emperor on 13 September 1745. Prussia recognised Francis as emperor, and Maria Theresa once again recognised

12720-465: Was educated in drawing, painting, music and dancing – the disciplines which would have prepared her for the role of queen consort . Her father allowed her to attend meetings of the council from the age of 14 but never discussed the affairs of state with her. Even though he had spent the last decades of his life securing Maria Theresa's inheritance, Charles never prepared his daughter for her future role as sovereign. The question of Maria Theresa's marriage

12840-607: Was erected at the Porta Galla in celebration, where it remains today. Their stay in Florence was brief. Charles VI soon recalled them, as he feared he might die while his heiress was miles away in Tuscany. In the summer of 1738, Austria suffered defeats during the ongoing Russo-Turkish War . The Turks reversed Austrian gains in Serbia , Wallachia , and Bosnia . The Viennese rioted at the cost of

12960-526: Was given the last rites . When the news came in early June that she had survived the crisis, there was huge rejoicing at the court and amongst the populace of Vienna. In October 1767, Maria Theresa's sixteen-year-old daughter Josepha also showed signs of the disease. It was assumed that she had caught the infection when she went with her mother to pray in the Imperial Crypt next to the unsealed tomb of Empress Maria Josepha (Joseph's wife). Archduchess Josepha started showing smallpox rash two days after visiting

13080-488: Was her main residence, she enjoyed her stays in Poland-Lithuania because it was a Catholic nation where she could exercise her faith openly. Between November 1734 to February 1736, she and Frederick Augustus made their longest visit to Poland-Lithuania, prolonged because of the War of the Polish Succession . They continued to make frequent trips, lasting between five and eight months each, plus several shorter trips lasting

13200-492: Was in a panic, as none of Maria Theresa's advisors had expected France to betray them. Francis Stephen urged Maria Theresa to reach a rapprochement with Prussia, as did Great Britain. Maria Theresa reluctantly agreed to negotiations. Contrary to all expectations, the young Queen gained significant support from Hungary. Her coronation as queen of Hungary suo jure took place in St. Martin's Cathedral , Pressburg (today's Bratislava), on 25 June 1741. She had spent months honing

13320-566: Was lacking. Later Maria Theresa even made a remark: "as for the state in which I found the army, I cannot begin to describe it." Maria Theresa found herself in a difficult situation. She did not know enough about matters of state and she was unaware of the weakness of her father's ministers. She decided to rely on her father's advice to retain his counselors and to defer to her husband, whom she considered to be more experienced, on other matters. Both decisions later gave cause for regret. Ten years later, Maria Theresa recalled in her Political Testament

13440-702: Was neglected, and when the French showed an interest in her, her mother went about educating her as best she could about the court of Versailles and the French. Maria Theresa kept up a fortnightly correspondence with Maria Antonia, now called Marie Antoinette , in which she often reproached her for laziness and frivolity and scolded her for failing to conceive a child. Maria Theresa was not just critical of Marie Antoinette. She disliked Leopold's reserve and often blamed him for being cold. She criticized Maria Carolina for her political activities, Ferdinand for his lack of organization, and Maria Amalia for her poor French and haughtiness. The only child she did not constantly scold

13560-403: Was overseen by Jesuits . Contemporaries thought her Latin to be quite good, but in all else, the Jesuits did not educate her well. Her spelling and punctuation were unconventional and she lacked the formal manner and speech which had characterised her Habsburg predecessors. Maria Theresa developed a close relationship with Countess Marie Karoline von Fuchs-Mollard , who taught her etiquette. She

13680-463: Was probably the most anti-Jewish monarch of her time, having inherited the traditional prejudices of her ancestors and acquired new ones. This was a product of commonplace antisemitism and was not kept secret in her time. In 1777, she wrote of the Jews: "I know of no greater plague than this race, which on account of its deceit, usury and avarice is driving my subjects into beggary. Therefore as far as possible,

13800-469: Was raised early in her childhood. Leopold Clement of Lorraine was first considered to be the appropriate suitor, and he was supposed to visit Vienna and meet the Archduchess in 1723. These plans were forestalled by his death from smallpox that year. Leopold Clement's younger brother, Francis Stephen , was invited to Vienna. Even though Francis Stephen was his favourite candidate for Maria Theresa's hand,

13920-425: Was reportedly not a prude and got along well with her spouse's illegitimate half-siblings. Queen Maria Josepha was politically active and, though not formally proclaimed regent during the absence of her spouse, she informally acted as his representative. It was known and acknowledged by the court that she participated in the affairs of state, and the ministers and ambassadors duly reported to her. She also managed

14040-513: Was strengthened by it thanks to its alliance with the Bourbons in Madrid, Parma and Naples . Maria Theresa herself decided to focus on domestic reforms and refrain from undertaking any further military operations. Maria Theresa gave birth to sixteen children in nineteen years from 1737 to 1756. Thirteen survived infancy, but only ten survived into adulthood. The first child, Maria Elisabeth (1737–1740),

14160-488: Was the Queen of Poland , Grand Duchess of Lithuania and Electress of Saxony by marriage to Augustus III . From 1711 to 1717, she was heir presumptive to the Habsburg monarchy . Maria Josepha was born in Vienna , an Archduchess of Austria, the eldest child and eldest daughter of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor and his wife, Princess Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg . She was named Josepha in honor of her father. During

14280-489: Was to receive the Grand Duchy of Tuscany upon the death of childless Grand Duke Gian Gastone de' Medici . The couple were married on 12 February 1736 at the Augustinian Church in Vienna . The Duchess of Lorraine's love for her husband was strong and possessive. The letters she sent to him shortly before their marriage expressed her eagerness to see him; his letters, on the other hand, were stereotyped and formal. She

14400-449: Was very jealous of her husband and his infidelity was the greatest problem of their marriage, with Maria Wilhelmina, Princess of Auersperg , as his best-known mistress. Upon Gian Gastone's death on 9 July 1737, Francis Stephen ceded Lorraine and became grand duke of Tuscany. In 1738, Charles VI sent the young couple to make their formal entry into Tuscany. The Triumphal Arch of the Lorraine

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